Commission explores ideas for improvement

Fayetteville planners review policies

FAYETTEVILLE — Planning commissioners tossed around ideas, reviewed policies and procedures and got to know each other a little better during a retreat Saturday.

All nine members of the commission met at the Ann Henry Board Room of the Fayetteville Public Library. Topics included the city planning staff ’s work plan for the year, tracking development in the city and future initiatives planners could take on.

Commissioners and staff discussed ways to better communicate with developers and the public. They reiterated the commission’s role in applying city code to a project request in an apolitical manner.

Commissioner Rob Sharp said staff’s role is to explain the rules so a project meets the city’s standards. From there, the developer can decide to pursue the project or not, he said. On the other hand, neighbor objections may not fit the criteria the commission can consider when voting.

“In a certain sense, that feels like the staff’s job is to work with a developer to approve projects,” Sharp said. “I think a lot of neighbors see our job as their last line of defense against something that’s going to ruin their lives, that they feel very strongly about.”

Coming up with overlay districts guiding development in certain areas or encouraging more detailed project proposals from developers came up as ways to help bridge the divide between what builders want to build and what residents want to see in their neighborhoods.

Planning staff brought up initiatives already underway or ones that could be brought to the commission in the future.

The city hopes to soon hire a consultant for $200,000 that would come up with a series of residential designs that a small developer or individual property owner could use. Using preapproved designs would potentially save a project thousands of dollars by not having to hire an architect or go through several city processes, said Mary McGetrick, the city’s long-range planner.

Staff also hopes to hire a consultant to update the downtown master plan, which was conceived from 2004 to 2006. The City Council hasn’t approved money for a consultant yet, but it’s been a frequent topic of discussion, McGetrick said. The commission discussed the need to update the downtown master plan at last year’s retreat as well.

“Some of the major goals of that early plan have been achieved, like the cultural arts corridor,” she said. “Part of revamping this plan is what

comes next. What are some of the biggest problems we’re facing now and in the next three, the next five and the next 10 years, and how do we address those?”

The commission also discussed some potential revisions to policies and code. Commissioner Mike Wiederkehr suggested staff look at application fees for developer requests. For instance, the fee to apply for a variance to city code for a project is $25. Reviewing the request takes staff time, and there are few staff members to sit down with a developer to go over the application before it comes to the commission, he said.

Increasing the fee could help better cover the actual cost to process an application or encourage a developer to design a project to code in the first place, Wiederkehr said. Other cities strategically use their fees, he said.

“I’m coming from a place where if you wanted a variance, get out your checkbook,” Wiederkehr said. “You’re going to Vegas and you may or may not get it.”

Commissioner Kris Paxton suggested planning staff look into prairie land overlay districts as opposed to strictly tree mitigation policies such as the city has now. Sometimes, trees shouldn’t go in wetland areas, and the code should have nuance to reflect that idea, he said.

“We could possibly incentivize solar or some other option other than tree preservation or tree planting for street trees,” Paxton said. “Like, instead of street trees we have prairie land grasses in the right of way.”